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Thursday, March 12, 2009

Over the past 7 days I have traveled to 3 cities for work, so I haven't been too creative with dinner or coming up with my own creations. Instead, I'm following recipes.

Last night I made a recipe I have had bookmarked for a while, Balsamic Chicken with Baby Spinach. This recipe is by Ellie Krieger, a Food Network chef known for her ultra-healthy meals. I made a few minor changes, but still kept this a very healthy meal.

My changes are noted in italics below.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 cloves garlic, chopped

2 (8-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts

8 ounces baby spinach

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/3 cup low-sodium chicken broth, plus 2 more for the cous cous (or whatever the back of the box says for liquid - I used broth instead of water)

After reading Ellie's instructions, I completely changed the order of cooking. I didn't want to cook the garlic with the chicken, but rather in the sauce. Also, I knew the spinach would be completely cold if I followed her directions. Overall it didn't make much sense to me!! What I did is below. For her method, see the above link.

Heat olive oil in a saute pan

Pound chicken thin and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Dredge lightly in flour, shaking off excess. I like how the chicken crisps when dredged in flour.

Add chicken to pan and cook about 4-5 minutes per side.

Remove from pan and keep warm.

If pan is dry, add just a touch of olive oil. Add garlic to pan and saute 2 min.

Add 1/3 c chicken broth and balsamic vinegar, bring to a simmer. I wanted more sauce, so I added a bit more broth.

Add tomatoes and their juices and bring to a steadier simmer. Return chicken to pan and let simmer 5 minutes.

Cous Cous

I wanted to give the cous cous more flavor. Instead of cooking it according to the directions on the box, I did the following -

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